Succulents and More™

As promised, here are some of the plants entered in the juried show at the 2025 San Francisco Succulent Expo . More than anything, they showcase the wide range of plants that fall under the umbrella of “succulents:” soft-leaved succulents like haworthias and echeverias, rigid-leaved succulents like agaves and aloes, cacti of all sizes and descriptions, and a large variety of caudiciforms. In fact, it seemed like cacti and caudiciforms made up a good ¾ of the entries. What you see below is only a fraction of the plants in the show. As is so often the case in venues like the San Francisco County Fair Building, the artificial lighting produces an unpleasant color cast. I tried to correct it as best as I could, but none of my photos would win any prizes. Speaking of prizes, the three judges selected their top picks in the three categories that made up the theme of this year’s event: “Leaf, Stem, Base” (i.e. the ways succulents store water). The judges’ overall favorite received the top awa...

This past weekend was the much anticipated 2025 San Francisco Succulent Expo hosted by the San Francisco Succulent and Cactus Society (SFSCS). With 40 vendors selling plants and pottery, this was the biggest succulent-themed event we’re likely to see all year in Northern California. I was there on Friday and Saturday, and while I don’t have exact numbers, attendance was good, the excitement was high, and people seemed to be buying. I definitely did. This post is about the action on the sales floor. I’ll have a separate post highlighting my favorite plants entered in the show. Friday afternoon shortly after the sale opened to SFSCS members (the event was open to the public on Saturday and Sunday) Lots to see and buy Plants sold by Brian Kemble and Walker Young (in their professional lives, curator and garden director of the Ruth Bancroft Garden) This vendor name made me laugh My friend Justin Thiel ‘s table. He was selling everything from aeoniums to mesembs, including his own aloe and...